1. Technical Field
The present invention generally pertains to the cargo carrying capacity of automotive vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a multipurpose shelf for use in the storage area of an automotive vehicle. More specifically, but without restriction to the particular embodiment and/or use which is shown and described for purposes of illustration, the present invention relates to a multipurpose shelf system for partitioning the storage area of a vehicle to provide a plurality of useful features.
2. Discussion
Most modern motor vehicles, in addition to the passenger area, incorporate a storage area of some sort into the vehicle. In a passenger car, the typical storage area is a trunk. In a minivan, sport utility vehicle, or hybrid-type vehicle, the storage area is generally the space behind the last row of seats. This storage area is defined by the side quarter trim panels, the floor, the back of the last row of seats, and the end gate of the vehicle. There has been an increased demand for these types of vehicles in recent years. The increased popularity of minivans, sport utility vehicles, and hybrid-type vehicles can be attributed in some measure to their ability to carry cargo compared to a passenger car. Accordingly, there has been an industry wide effort to provide vehicles that can efficiently utilize available space not only for carrying passengers but cargo as well.
To enhance the cargo carrying capabilities of a storage area, flanges have been used to support luggage that may traverse the storage area as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,740,534. This arrangement is extremely dependent on the size of the luggage that the operator desires to stow. Since then, there have been many attempts to enhance the utility of the storage area of a vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,537 discloses a multi-positional storage unit. This unit can provide a shelf-like structure in a variety of positions to partition the storage area. However, this unit is large and tends to take up a significant amount of the usable storage space that is available to the operator. This unit also has a number of movable parts that may make operation of the unit time consuming and possibly difficult for some operators.
To enhance the cargo carrying capabilities of a vehicle in general, many manufacturers have tried to provide a functional relationship between the storage area and the passenger area. This is done in an effort to provide maximum passenger carrying capability while at the same time being able to provide enhanced cargo carrying capability when desired by the operator of the vehicle. Such a relationship is shown and described in commonly assigned U.S. Ser. Nos. 08/997,636 and 08/997,637, filed Dec. 23, 1997, which are hereby incorporated as reference.
There continues to be a need to enhance the cargo carrying capabilities of a vehicle's storage area and of a vehicle in general. Enhanced cargo carrying capability can be afforded by an increase in the functionality of a partitioning system for the storage area of a vehicle. Increased or improved functionality can be achieved by providing more useful partitioning locations as well as easy transitioning between the partitioning locations. There is also a need to provide a relatively horizontal surface in a vehicle to store large items. It is, therefore, desirable to provide a small and simple system that can enhance the functionality of the storage area to satisfy the aforementioned needs.